1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to sprinkler systems for home or commercial applications, and more particularly, relates to a sump sprinkler control system to irrigate and control irrigation of residential or commercial properties by using water from a buildings drainage and sump system.
2. Description of Related Art
Sprinkler systems and sprinkler control systems have been known for many years in the prior art. Most of these prior art sprinkler systems connect to a city water system that provide water to the home of residents where the sprinkler system is installed. The city supplied water is controlled by a sprinkler control system which distributes the water to a predetermined number of sprinkler stations to water the lawn and landscaping around the building. Generally, the user of prior art sprinkler systems has to pay for the cost of the city water and sewer system for use of the irrigation system at the household. Many of these households also have fertilizing costs associated with keeping the lawn in a pristine condition. The prior art sprinkler control systems also need to be blown out at the end of the season, such that water is not trapped within the system, which may freeze and harm or crack the pipes of the sprinkler system. Some of these prior art automatic sprinkler control systems also have attempted to collect rain water in large holding tanks for use in irrigating the lawn and landscaping around homes, however the high cost of installation of such systems may be prohibitive to use of such systems.
Many of the prior art sprinkler systems described above for irrigating landscaping and lawns of homes may be high cost systems that require a lot of maintenance and require a lot of out of pocket expenses via the use of city water and sewer systems to which the sprinkler system is connected. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a sump sprinkler system and associated control system that takes advantage of water from a buildings drainage and sump system in areas where the water table is high enough to provide sufficient volume. There also is a need in the art for a sump sprinkler control system that uses water that would otherwise be wasted and exhausted to the sewer or property drainage system to irrigate the lawn and flowerbeds of the property. There also is a need in the art for a sump sprinkler control system that provides a control unit that provides intuitive custom programmability and ease of use to the homeowner.
There also is a need in the art for a system that may incorporate a smart fill time learning algorithm that will automatically adjust for varying water table heights throughout the growing season. There also is a need in the art for a sump sprinkler control system that allows the system to start at a programmed time and complete the programmed watering cycle in an efficient manner.
There also is a need in the art for a sump sprinkler control system that uses green technologies and can save many hundreds of dollars per year over the cost of using a city water system and may also save up to 70% to 80% on yearly fertilizing costs because of the high nutrient content generally found in ground waters. Furthermore, there is a need in the art for a sump sprinkler control system that reduces the cost and hassle of scheduling year end sprinkler system blowouts when a compressor is built into a sump sprinkler control system as described in the present invention.